Former Washington player, cancer survivor returns to WCWS

Bailey Stenson had been on OGE Energy Field before, as part of Washington’s 2009 national champion softball team.

This time around, she was on the field marching as a cancer survivor for the Women’s College World Series Strikeout Cancer event.

“Being able to survive leukemia and then get to play for one of the greatest softball teams in the nation, and then win a national championship with my best friends, it doesn’t really get better than that,” Stenson said.

Stenson was diagnosed with leukemia at 3 years old. She doesn’t remember a lot, so most of what Stenson knows is based off of her parents’ accounts.

There are a few things Stenson remembers: the hospital trips, the spinal taps — which doctors told her were called back pokes to not frighten her — and one instance with her grandma. Stenson lost all of her hair in one night after a chemotherapy session, the night her grandma decided to bring her favorite food: pizza. But, when Stenson’s grandma saw her she was shocked.

“She dropped the pizza and just left in tears,” Stenson said. “It was just a really emotional time for my family.”

Now, Stenson is 24 years cancer free and when she got to walk on the field again, she stood in right field — her former position — as the emotions overcame her.

“Being back here, it’s so overwhelming and emotional,” Stenson said. “I stood there and that was really cool, it was just like, ‘Wow.’”

Washington is back in the championship series for the first time since Stenson won her championship in 2009. With her championship ring on, Stenson said she has nothing but confidence in her Huskies’ ability to beat Florida State.

“This is a very special opportunity,” she said, “and it feels very similar to when I was a player.”

Olivia Kay returns to singing national anthem at WCWS

This time last year, Olivia Kay was thousands of miles away from HOF Stadium.

The Edmond native and viral YouTube sensation was somewhere in Hollywood, auditioning and filming for The Voice, a competitive singing reality show on NBC.

In the three years before that, Kay spent every June at the WCWS, singing the national anthem.

“It was really surreal because it’s nothing that you would expect,” Kay said of auditioning for The Voice. “It was a lot of fun. I got to meet a whole lot of awesome artists, but I was missing my home and all my family. It was different.”

This year, she made her return in a grand way, belting out the anthem before Washington and Florida State squared off Monday night as members of the Black Daggers parachuted onto the field in front of her.

Kay didn’t make it past the blind audition round of The Voice, where she was the youngest person ever to audition, but that doesn’t mean she’s giving up on her singing career.

“I’m trying to write my own music and perfect and hone my own instrument, essentially,” she said. “I’m learning guitar, too. I’ve been doing that at home. I’m going to be in a musical this summer, and I’m excited for that.”

Tickets available for Game 2 of WCWS Championship Series

Dozens of tickets are available for Tuesday night’s WCWS game.

Fans can purchase them on the NCAA’s ticket exchange for as little as $14.40 for an outfield seat. There will also be standingroom-only tickets for purchase at the box office.

There are a little less than 300 tickets available for the game on StubHub, with tickets as low as $8.64 for an outfield seat.

BROOKE PRYOR AND AUSTIN MOSELEY, STAFF WRITERS